Sigma/Star

Chapter 116: Assault on Razul Part 2

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Raul was already at the edge of the base, the only one among them who had gone a separate way. His job was to attempt an assassination of one of the generals as soon as possible, General Reaver. If both, or at least one of the general could be taken out right away, the victory could be secured. The ninja felt his own heartbeat in his chest as he moved, and he had to still it with a moment of focused breathing. He checked over his myriad weapons that were hidden across his machine, making sure they were all in order and accounted for. This was not the time for a malfunction, and he needed to reassure himself that everything would be fine.

He had come a long way since his first engagement, when he had hesitated in his kill and nearly cost the team their lives. This would be different though, and would be his moment to redeem himself. He had slaughtered Bahari in combat, watching those around him die. He could execute someone now, he was certain of it. Porter had given instructions already to attempt to disable the enemy, and to only kill if necessary, but Raul was ready for whatever it took. Chase's blood was still on his hands, in his mind, and he had to pay that back to his fallen friend.

"You will never kill me if you can't surprise me." The voice crackled through Raul's cockpit, distorted by a program the other pilot possessed in his Goliath. Raul ducked down, rolling forwards as his opponent swiped the air where he had once stood.

"General Reaver."

"Raul."

The two took a moment to acknowledge each other while Raul stood back up and turned to face his enemy. Reaver was operating a thin Goliath, a Mongoose-class machine similar to Sigmeund's. Its triangular face was partially hidden by a tattered, brown scarf that wrapped around the battlesuit's neck and billowed behind it in the northern winds. The rest of the lean warmachine seemed designed to move, composed of lightweight portions painted white, letting Reaver blend in slightly with his snowy surroundings. Each hand of the Goliath was made up of fingers tipped with pointed claws, designed to rip through enemies up close; it had been a strike from one of those Raul had just dodged, and his chest tightened for a moment when he saw them.

Strapped to the side of Reaver was a lengthy katana, kept in its scabbard still. The battlesuit's six eyes, three on either of its head, stared at Raul with great patience. "The Ghost is ready to take your skull," Reaver stated from his cockpit, referring to the name of his own warmachine. It was an accurate description both of the Goliath, and of its owner. Not many people knew what Reaver looked like, as he was often wearing several layers of coats on his body, with his face wrapped in cloth, leaving only two eyes to watch the world.

Raul had known of Reaver for a long time. It had been Reaver who had picked Raul out of the orphanage at a young age, and Reaver who had personally trained the boy when he was still a child, before finally sending him to the academy. At that time, Reaver had just been a major, not the general he was now, but his skills as an assassin had been whispered in hallways and around tables even then. He was known for his efficiency and speed, in and out of intense combat areas before his enemy knew what had happened. Many attributed it to his Artisan parents, refugees who had fled their country and settled in the Enian Federation, but Raul knew more about Reaver than most.

When Reaver had first taken on Raul, had trained him, it had not just been his skills that Reaver had tried to pass on to Raul. The general had no heart, had no empathy or feelings to speak of, and was ruthlessly effective because of it. An accident as a child had left his face beaten and scarred, and a small part of his brain had been damaged, leaving him with almost no emotion. Reaver had attempted to scrub feeling from Raul as well when he had taught the youth, but it had never been completely successful.

"I'm surprised you even remember me." A blade slid out of the top of the Blue Blur's right wrist. Raul knew that Reaver cared very little for chatter and could only be distracted for so long before he would strike. Raul had to be prepared for anything and everything at this point, and he had always known, since choosing to take out Reaver instead of Artemis, that it would come to this eventually. "I thought you didn't care for anyone in the world."